Journal Bliss: Symbolic Stories

Your Life is Full of Blissful Journaling Fodder!

“To become truly immortal, a work of art must escape all human limits: logic and common sense will only interfere. But once these barriers are broken, it will enter the realms of childhood visions and dreams.” —Giorgio De Chirico

One way to tell the stories of your life on paper is to choose a pertinent story from someone you care about and relate it to your own experiences in order to realize a deeper connection on the pages of your journal.

The origin of this visual journal page is a story about my mother as a teenager. She desperately wanted a strapless ball gown and a room of her own. She wanted to escape a life of poverty and scraping by, and she felt that if she married, then she would be able to afford these simple dreams. Sadly, she never did get that coveted ball gown, but my mom's story reminded me of finally getting my own strapless gown when I was in my forties.

My daughter, Jessica, and I were shopping at a vintage clothing store, and I spied this splendid cream-colored ball gown with tulle and extreme poofiness. Impractical, maybe, but it was calling my name. So I tried it on  but it was so snug that I couldn't get out of it. I struggled and strained but to no avail. I called the sales clerk over and I explained my dilemma. He said, "Oh, don't worry. Just do whatever you need to do to get out of it!" So I ended up tearing the darn thing!

Now, this next part I simply cannot believe I did. I decided to buy the gown, but brazenly said, "I'd love to buy this dress but it's torn. Could I please have a discount?" The sales clerk who had advised me earlier smiled at me and deducted ten dollars from the cost. I was reminded of a favorite quote by Wilhela Cushman (a fashion editor, naturally): "Just around the corner in every woman's mind  is a lovely dress, a wonderful suit or entire costume which will make an enchanting new creature of her."

Can you see that life is simply full of blissful journaling fodder? There are so many endearing stories that enrich our lives and can be
brought to life visually with a little creativity. What symbolic stories can you tell on the pages of your art journal?

How to Make a Portable Creativity Kit

With Back to School items all around us it's easy to pick up some fun supplies to create your own Creativity Kit. You can bring your kit with you to the coffee shop, restaurant or on your travels. Here is what you'll need:

A moleskin or coil bound book with blank pages

Watercolor pencil crayons

Sharpener

Sharpie felt pens or Micron pens

Pencils

Felt pens

Crayons

Glitter glue

A zippered pouch or plastic case

A small paint brush

Film canister with lid

An envelope

Glue stick

Tape the envelope to the back of your journal. This will hold your ephemera things you gather such as stickers, ticket stubs, receipts, candy wrappers, words, etc. Now use your creativity kit to create collages of found objects or document what is around you.

Learn to draw what you see in a Zen-like manner not worrying about whether or not it is perfect. You can draw your coffee cup or your lunch in a restaurant. Creating in this fashion helps you to be in the moment and to capture it in a unique way that only you are able to.

First outline your drawing with a black permanent pen, and then color in with your watercolor pencil crayons. Using your film canister as a water container, dip your paint brush into the water and voila you can now turn your creation into a watercolor mini masterpiece quite painlessly!